While the future of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly after 2020 is an issue to be resolved in the negotiations on the future partnership between the organisation of ACP countries and the EU, the co-chairs of the political forum of the Cotonou Agreement once again stepped up to the plate on Tuesday 6 October to plead for its continuation.
In a joint statement, Carlos Zorrinho MEP and Faumuina Liuga, an MP from Samoa welcomed the support of the German Presidency of the EU Council for the continuation of the JPA in the post-Cotonou period.
They note that an ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, an integral part of the institutional framework of the future agreement, is provided for in the negotiating mandate of the ACP States and constitutes a “non-negotiable request for the European Parliament, a condition of its consent to the future agreement”.
They reiterate the need to ensure that this JPA has organisational autonomy, is supported by a strong co-secretariat and meets at regular intervals.
A former Member of the European Parliament who was a member of the JPA, the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller, recently declared his support before the European Parliament's Committee on Development (see EUROPE 12570/17).
Noting that efforts are under way to conclude these negotiations, the JPA Co-chairs state that they remain confident that the proposed new agreement will contribute to meeting the aspirations of the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and the citizens of the EU. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)